Garment-supporting clasp.



J. McILVENNY.

GARMENT SUPPORTING CLASP.

APPLICATION men Nov. 12, 1915.

1 ,2 1 2,529 Patented Jan. 16, 1917.

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JOHN MGILVENNY, 0F NORWICH, CONNECTICUT.

GARMENT-SUPPORTING CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 16, 191?.

Application filed November 17, 1915. Serial No. 62,012.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OHN MoILvnNNY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norwich, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporting Clasps, of which the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to clasps, and has for its object to provide a clasp especially adapted for supporting garments, such as trousers and skirts, in clothes closets, and to this end is provided with means for securing the same to the wall of the closet or to a shelf therein.

Another object is to facilitate the release or opening of the clasp when the same is attached to the wall or shelf of a closet.

A further object is to simplify the construction of the clasp so that it may be economically manufactured.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

The invention will'be described first in connection with the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification, and then more specifically defined in the claims at the end of the description.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein similar reference characters are used to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clasp constructed substantially in accordance with the present invention, the supporting hook being shown in full lines in the position it occupies when screwed into the bottom of the shelf, and in dotted lines in the position it assumes when screwed into the wall of a closet, and the open position of the clasp being illustrated in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken in the line II-II of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the clasp, and Fig. 4 is a broken view illustrating how a pair of the clasps may be fastened to a shelf and used for supporting a pair of trousers.

In the drawings, 1 designates a support ing hook having its end pointed and screwthreaded, as at 2, for fastening to a fixture, such as a wall or shelf, see Fig. 4. The head of the hook has a straight portion 3 which extends through the, body of the clasp and also serves as the pivotal axle for the swinging jaw member of the clasp.

The body of the clasp is preferably made in a single piece consisting of a relatively long rear arm 4, depending from a central portion 5, and a relatively short front arm 6, the latter having its lower end turned inward, as at 7, to form the fixed jaw of the clasp. The central portion 5 at the crotch between the arms 4 and 6 has lateral depending flangesS which are perforated at 9 for the passage of the straight portion 3 of the supporting hook l. The arms 4 and 6 preferably diverge slightly from the central portion 5, and are provided with longitudinal inwardly turned flanges 11 and 12, respectively, which serve to stiifen these parts and permit them to be made of comparatively thin metal.

The straight portion 3 of the hook is also passed through ears 14 on the upper end of the movable or swinging jaw member 13, thus forming the pivotal axle for said movable jaw between the arms 4 and 6 of the rigid body or frame of the clasp. Said movable jaw member 13 has an outward oifset 15 opposite the fixed jaw at the lower end of the arm 6, and this offset constitutes the movable jaw proper. The swinging member extends downwardly beyond the offset 15 to form a finger piece 16 arranged opposite the lower endof. the arm 4. The swinging member is normally pressed outward away from the arm 4 and toward the arm 6 by a spring 10 coiled about the straight portion 3 of the hook and having one of its ends bearing against the arm 4 and its other end pressing against the movable jaw member 13. The flange 11 at one edge of the arm 4 retains the end of the spring which bears against said arm in proper position, while a similar inwardly turned flange 17 on the swinging member 13 holds the other end of the spring in place against that part. It will be noted that the flanges 8 at the sides of the top portion 5 of the rigid frame or body of the clasp serve to house the spring 10 and re tain the movable member in operative position.

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the hook 1 may have its screw-threaded end 2 screwed into the bottom of a shelf 18 for supporting the clasp in a convenient position. If desired, however, the hook 1 may be turned down to a horizontal position, as suggested in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and screwed into a vertical surface or wall. In fact, the hook may be turned with its screw-threaded shank 2 at any desired angle with respect to the frame of the clasp, thus adapting said clasp to be fastened up and supported from fixtures in various positions as may be best suited for holding difierent garments. As shown in Fig. A a pair of the Clasps are arranged in proper position for supporting a pair of trousers 19, the bottoms of which are gripped between the fixed jaws 7 and movable jaws 15 of the clasps. To release the garment and open the clasps, the finger piece 16 of the movable member, and the lower end portion of the arm A of the rigid frame are grasped between the forefinger and thumb, and the movable member 13 pressed or swung inward toward the arm A, consequently, away from the arm 6 and fixed jaw 7.

The construction of the clasp with the finger piece 16 at the end of the movable jaw facilitates the insertion of the article to be supported between the jaws of the clasp. By grasping either the waistbands or bottom of the garment between the thumbs and forefingers of the hands and pressing the garment thus held against the finger piece 16 the latter may be swung inward sufliciently to open the clasp wide enough to admit the edge of the garment which may be easily inserted between the jaws while said finger piece is thus held. As soon as pressure is removed from the finger piece, the movable jaw will be closed by the spring, thus clamping and securely holding the garment to be suspended.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A clasp comprising a rigid frame having spaced arms, one of which has its extremity turned inward toward the other arm to form a fixed jaw, a movable jaw member pivoted at one end between the arms of'the frame and having an outwardly offset portion intermediate of its ends and opposite the fixed jaw, said offset portion constituting a movable jaw, said pivoted member also having a finger piece extending beyond the offset, and resilient means for pressing the movable jaw against the fixed 2. A clasp comprising a r1g1d frame having spaced arms, one of which constitutes a fixed jaw, a plvotal axle carried by'the frame and arranged between the arms, a

movable jaw member pivoted on said axle,

and a spring coiled about the axle and having its ends bearing againstthe movable jaw member and one arm of the frame for pressing said movable jaw member against the other arm of the frame.

3. A clasp comprising a rigid frame having spaced arms, one of which constitutes a fixed jaw, and lateral flanges in the crotch at the junction of said arms, a pivotal axle passed through said flanges, a movable jaw member pivoted on said axle between said flanges, and a spring coiled about the axle and having its ends bearing against the movable jaw member and onearm of the frame for pressing said movable jaw mem- .ber against the other arm of the frame.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN MoILVENNY.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

